


Epilogue: One Year Later

by MissLit



Category: Dream Daddy: A Dad Dating Simulator
Genre: All the Dads are supportive of each other, Except Joseph I'm sorry to anyone who likes Joseph, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Mary is a Good Friend, One Shot, Post-Canon, Slow Burn, Spoilers, Trans Dadsona (Dream Daddy), so many spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-13
Updated: 2018-03-13
Packaged: 2019-03-30 15:38:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,841
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13954695
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MissLit/pseuds/MissLit
Summary: A year after they first met, Robert hasn't officially told Marshall that he's ready to get romantic yet. Though Marshall has tried to distract himself by making friends and doing other things, as the anniversary of their meeting draws closer he drifts further and further away from the neighborhood.





	Epilogue: One Year Later

**Author's Note:**

> I’m late to the Dream Daddy bandwagon, but I fell in love with the story and characters and I couldn’t get this epilogue idea out of my head. Spoilers for all the endings if you haven’t beaten them yet, I cherry picked the things I liked from them and made them part of my canon.

It had been a year since Marshal and Amanda moved into the cul de sac. And almost a year now since she’d gone off to college. Lying on the couch, alone, Marshall stared at the ceiling with a contemplative frown, his mind raced over all the things that had happened since they’d moved. Amanda didn’t call as often as he’d like, but she made time at least once a week for a chat. From the sound of things she’d made plenty of new friends, and unfortunately it sounded like she may have had a boyfriend as well. Great, someone he couldn’t threaten or even talk to until she decided to bring him home. Every dad’s nightmare.

That also meant a year since he’d run into Craig again and promised to start going to the gym with him. Since then he’d started going three times a week, and on Saturdays he and Craig would tackle the hill in the park together. It was still torture, but Marshall was starting to feel more masculine by the day. And he’d lost some of that dad bod pudge. 

A whole year since his rivalry with Brian had begun. Even though they had a few ‘friendly competitions’ going since then, Marshall eventually cooled off and realized that Brian wasn’t actually a bad guy. He just wasn’t the most eloquent. They’d since become fishing buddies, despite Marshall’s lacking skill, and took Daisy and Maxwell to the lake once in a while.

Which made it a year since he’d helped Mat name his banana bread at the Coffee Spoon. Banana Bread Kennedys had since become a hit and was now a permanent staple on the board. Marshall had also learned that Mat held an open mic night occasionally, and though he was reluctant to go without Amanda, Hugo and Damien were usually there and the three had a fun time.

Right, and a year since the incident in Dead, Goth & Beyond, as well as the one with Hugo at Amanda’s school. Marshall had slowly warmed up to the pair of them and began volunteering at the school and animal shelter respectively. Of course, he hadn’t realized Damien worked the animal shelter when he started there.

A year, then, since Joseph had first brought him cookies. Marshall’s relationship with Joseph was a bit strained now, for reasons he wanted to forget. But he still volunteered at the church occasionally, and he’d become fairly close with Joseph’s wife Mary between the church functions, the animal shelter, and of course Jim and Kim’s. 

Speaking of which…

Marshall rolled onto his side, facing the couch. There was no one here to hide his disappointment from, but it felt nice to bury his depressing face in the couch cushions. 

One year ago he’d met the love of his life, Robert Small. And a month after that, he’d been told he had to wait for him. 

It wasn’t that they didn’t see one another. There was rarely a day that went by that they didn’t exchange a text at the very least. And when Robert realized what a disgustingly poor cook Marshall was he started inviting him over for dinner. Occasionally breakfast. And sometimes Marshall would come back from the gym to a text inviting him to lunch. 

They spent their nights in Robert’s truck bed whittling or curled up on the couch with Betsy watching paranormal shows. It was rare, now, that they went down to Jim and Kim’s. Robert had spent his life in a bottle, but since meeting with Val he’d taken strides to better himself. He’d cut back on the drinking and smoking, he was eating better and showering and washing his clothes…

Yet Marshall had had no word on whether it was enough yet. He was happy to wait for Robert to be a better man, to be happy enough with himself to let someone else in completely. But in a month it would be a year since he’d been told he had to wait, and he hadn’t heard anything from Robert or Val to suggest there was much success. 

He hated to admit it, but Marshall had started to retreat the closer the day got. 

A month ago he’d cut down his gym liaisons to once a week. He’d cut his volunteer hours at the animal rescue and stopped showing up at the church altogether. He’d stopped grooming his lawn and found himself flaking out on Robert more often. Marshall shifted on the couch, realizing that for the third day in a row he hadn’t changed out of his pajamas. 

Maybe it wasn’t mature of him. There were days when he felt like he was throwing a temper tantrum, but he realized the only person he was hurting, really, was himself. As fun as it was to spend time with the other dads and Mary and of course Robert, they had done fine without him there a year ago. They had their lives and their kids, and he had a bucket of ice cream and bad reality tv. 

His phone buzzed from its spot on the coffee table. Groaning, Marshall reluctantly rolled and snatched it up, squinting at the phone’s bright screen. 

A message from Dadbook.

Craig: Hey bro!!! Haven’t heard from you in a while. Wanna hang? I just got done with a fun run and I’m about to hit up the Coffee Spoon. 

Marshall read the message, considered the idea of going to the coffee shop, and decided to ignore it. He turned his phone’s screen off and closed his eyes, completely prepared to fall asleep… When his phone buzzed again. Sighing, he looked at the screen. 

Hugo: Hello Marshall, I hope you’re well. We haven’t seen you at the middle school lately. I was wondering if you’d like to join me for a coffee? School just let out for the day.

School was out already? Sure enough, when Marshall checked the time he found it was nearing four o’clock. He hesitated, feeling a pang of guilt for leaving Hugo alone with those middle schoolers… But closed his phone again. 

He didn’t have time to close his eyes this time as two more messages came in. 

Brian: What’s going on, buddy? You wanna come have a coffee and talk about lawn care?

Damien: Marshall, I hope this correspondence finds you well. I have not heard from you of late and wish to meet with you at the Coffee Spoon at your earliest convenience. Yours, D. Bloodmarch

Marshall sat straight up as he flipped through his messages. Even as he read them another from Mat came in none-too subtly asking him to meet up at the Coffee Spoon. What the hell were they up to? There was no way all of them just happened to message at the same time from the same place. 

Oh no. This was an intervention. 

There was a long while where he seriously considered ignoring them, but looking back over the messages made Marshall’s chest hurt. He’d thought they would be okay without him but… They were all asking him to come. With another moment of hesitation, Marshall decided to just message Craig back. 

Me: Sure thing, bro. Lemme shower and change quick, I’ll be right there.

A moment later, he got a response.

Craig: :D Can’t wait to see you, broham!!!

Marshall couldn’t help smiling as he headed to the bathroom. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d showered… This was gonna be a while. 

~*~*~

Hair still dripping, Marshall made his way to the Coffee Spoon. The drive was short but nerve-wracking as he considered what they would all do to him. Were they going to complain about the state of his lawn? Maybe the fact that he hadn’t brought his garbage cans down lately? No, that seemed like Brian and Joseph’s territory. And, thankfully, he hadn’t gotten a message from Joseph. Maybe he wouldn’t be there. 

Sucking in a deep breath, Marshall parked and stepped into the small shop. It looked unusually packed with most of the neighborhood there. 

“Bro!” Craig called, grinning. “Hey, you made it.” He was seated at a larger table in the back with Hugo, Damien, and Brian at the other seats. 

“Hey,” Marshall greeted before eyeing the rest of the guys. “Hey… Everyone.”

Damien stood, flipping his cloak over his shoulder. “It is good to see you again, Marshall. I trust you’re well?”

“Well enough… Hey, lemme get some coffee and banana bread and I’ll be right over.”

“No need.”

Marshall glanced over his shoulder to find Mat waiting with a tray and a calm smile. “Coffee, black. Aaand a whole pan of Banana Bread Kennedys just for you.” He set down the treats and pulled out a chair for Marshall. Yup… This was definitely an intervention. 

“Thanks. What do I..?”

Mat waved Marshall’s wallet away. “No charge. Just have a seat.”

Hesitating, Marshall sunk into the chair. “Ouch. Sounds like I’m in deep trouble if you guys got Mat in on this.” 

“Trouble?” Hugo repeated, adjusting his glasses. 

“I mean, it’s not a coincidence that you all texted me at the same time.” They exchanged glances across the table. “So, uh… Yeah, I’m sorry about my lawn. And the garbage. And bailing on things I’m supposed to be going to. Damien, Hugo, I’m sorry I left you alone with those animals… And the puppies that needed petting.”

Damien opened his mouth to interrupt but Marshall was feeling the hot sting of embarrassment as he pushed on.

“And Craig, I know you liked having me as a running buddy but you see, I’m old, I mean we all kind of are, so running was starting to get a little hard on the knees, see? And when I went to the doctor he was like, maybe you should be running less and doing more weight training but you don't do that as often so I just kinda stopped going.”

“Bro, wait--”

But Marshall was on a roll now. “And Brian, I’m sure you’re doing fine going fishing without me, right? Some nice father-daughter time with Daisy never hurt anyone, I’m sure everything’s been fine without me, it’s all been fine.” His face felt hot. No, it felt… Wet. His voice was starting to choke. “It’s fine.”

Mat was the first to react, crouching down a bit so he could wrap a comforting arm around Marshall’s shoulder. “Hey, hey,” he soothed. “Marshall, listen… This isn’t an intervention, it’s not about all that stuff.”

“It kinda is,” Craig tacked on. “But, like… Not in a bad way! We’re all just super worried about you, bro.”

“Indeed,” Damien chimed in. “You have no obligation to us, friend, but we all realized we’d seen very little of you.”

Hugo placed a comforting hand on Marshall’s wrist, studying him. “We’re your friends, Marshall… We know it’s been hard since Amanda moved away, but this is new. We aren’t used to you being so distant…”

It took a few moments for the tears to subside. Marshall clumsily wiped his face with his free hand as Mat squeezed his shoulder. 

“It’s, uh… It’s kind of stupid,” Marshall began with a weak laugh. No one laughed with him. The group was watching him intently, each with a look of concern on his face. “... Today… Is the anniversary of when we moved here. And… It’s also the anniversary of when I met all of you. Including… Robert.”

“How have things been with him?” Brian asked. “Seemed to me like he’s been doing a lot better.”

“He’s been here by me more than he’s been at Jim and Kim’s,” Mat observed. 

Craig piped up, “Yeah and instead of skulking at the park he’s actually been taking walks with some dog. He keeps saying it’s not his, but I’m pretty sure it is since he’s with it all the time.”

Nodding, Marshall replied, “He’s been doing a lot better since he and Val reconciled. A lot better…” He couldn’t think of how to begin the next part.

“But..?” Hugo urged. 

“But… We were dating. Or rather, trying to date last year.” Nobody looked surprised. “At Amanda’s party, though, he told me that he couldn’t get serious with me until he’d fixed himself. And don’t get me wrong, I was more than happy to wait. I still am. It seems like…”

“It’s been a while,” Mat offered. 

“Right!” Marshall cried, throwing his hands up in frustration. “Right, in a month it’ll have been a year since he told me that and even though we see each other all the time, he hasn’t brought it up. And I don’t know if I’m supposed to bring it up or what’s supposed to happen with that because I don’t want to rush him but he hasn’t said anything and, and--”

“Breathe, Marshall,” Damien supplied. He waited for Marshall to take a few deep breaths before adding, “It sounds to me as though you’re stuck in a Catch-22. Should you speak of this before he is ready, it could fray the relationship. However, if you wait for him to speak and he thinks he has gone too long, he may get the impression that you’ve moved on. It has been a year, it isn’t impossible.”

Hugo nodded. “That is a dilemma.”

“So what should I do? I don’t want to lose him. I haven’t felt this way about anyone since Alex…”

Mat gave Marshall another squeeze. He knew what it was like to lose someone, and how difficult it was to move on. 

“Bro, if you like him I say go for it,” Craig chimed in. Brian nodded in agreement as he took a sip from his coffee. “Just get in there and be like, yo dude. I like you and you said you liked me so what are we doing about that?”

But Damien shook his head. “I would advise against that, personally. You may cause him to feel pressured if you do that.”

“Right, and when Robert feels pressured he retreats,” Hugo agreed.

The group took a moment to contemplate. It really seemed like a no-win situation. No matter what Marshall did, it was possible it would cause a problem with their relationship. Finally, Damian snapped his fingers.

“I’ve got it! Why don’t you speak to Mary?” he supplied.

Marshall felt his face grow pale. “Mary? I, uh… I don’t know, Damien…”

“She’s very good friends with Robert, and she’ll know exactly what to do. If he isn’t ready, she can warn you and keep you from making a mistake. But if he is simply waiting on you, you’ll have the upper hand.”

Brian was eyeing Marshall. Only a few of the other dads knew why Marshall was so hesitant.

“She wouldn’t happen to be working the shelter today, would she?” Marshall asked.

“I’m afraid not, she’ll be at home.”

“Great…”

Mat slowly pulled away. “If you need someone to go with you, I’m your guy.”

“I can, too,” Brian added, leaning on the table. 

Marshall was about to accept their offer, but after some consideration he shook his head. “No. I should go alone.” 

Even though he was on friendly terms with Mary their relationship had take a dive a few months ago when Marshall had accepted Joseph’s invitation to hang out more. At first it was fun, making brownies for the bake sale and helping run events for the youth group. But Mary had warned Marshall not to get too close to Joseph. 

“As your friend first,” she’d said, “And as his wife second, I’m gonna ask that you don’t hang out with Joseph alone. Ever.”

At the idea that Mary, and by extension Robert, thought Marshall was messing around with Joseph, he’d done as she’d asked. But he couldn’t help noticing that Joseph had started becoming more and more insistent that they spend time together. Each time there were less people around, and just a bit more touching. Nothing sordid, just a hand on his arm, or his waist, once a hand that lingered a bit too long on the stem of a margarita glass. But it was enough.

Since then, Marshall hadn’t gone to Joseph and Mary’s except for neighborhood cookouts, and he only volunteered for the larger events at the church so he could avoid being alone with Joseph. 

After finishing his coffee and banana bread, Marshall anxiously made his way home. He crossed the lawn to Mary and Joseph’s, reluctantly knocking. 

Chris opened the door, eyeing Marshall warily for a moment before stepping aside. “Hey Chris,” Marshall greeted. The kids had been accustomed to his presence but it seemed like his sudden absence had torn down that particular bridge. “Is your mom here?” Chris only nodded to the kitchen before rushing up the stairs and out of sight.

“In here, sailor.”

Marshall made his way into the kitchen to find Mary with a wine glass in hand. “Fancy seeing you here,” she said, quirking an eyebrow at him. “You know if you wanted to hang out you could have just met me at Jim and Kim’s.”

“Probably,” Marshall admitted. “But I kind of wanted to talk to you alone.”

“Ah, ah,” Mary interrupted, holding a finger up to silence him. “I’ve got a bone to pick with you, nerd. Where have you been lately? We could have used your help at the animal shelter last week, Dames and I had a hell of a time with that new influx of puppies.”

Marshall’s heart sank a bit. “I know, I’m sorry. Something came up.”

Mary swirled the wine in her glass. “Something?”

“That’s why I’m here, actually. I wanted to talk to you about Robert.”

“I don’t play the gossip game, you know that.”

Shaking his head, Marshall sat down at the island. “Mary, I want to know if Robert is... Done with me.”

Mary paused, eyeing him. “Done?

“It’s been almost a year,” Marshall confided. “I’m sure he told you about us.”

“Robert doesn’t kiss and tell--”

“We didn’t do That,” Marshall insisted. “We went on dates, we hung out together, we... “ He ran a hand through his hair. “We just had fun. It was fun, and nice. It was good to be with someone who was funny and real and wasn’t willing to fake smiles until he got me to like him. I just need to know if Robert is over all that or if he’s just waiting for me to make the first move.”

Mary sucked in a breath. “Sounds like a personal problem.”

“You don’t understand. He told me he wanted to work on himself before he could be romantic with me.”

“So you left him to his own devices,” Mary supplied, slowly setting her glass down. “Good man. And?”

Marshall hesitated. “And nothing. He hasn’t really said anything about it since then.”

Mary crossed her arms. “Hm.”

“You don’t think he’s mad about Joseph, do you?”

“Did he say he was mad?” Mary asked as she quirked a brow at him.

Shaking his head, Marshall said, “He doesn’t say if he’s mad, Mary, you know him. He beats around the bush with his real emotions and you have to drag it out of him.”

“Well he told me he was mad at my dear husband for that one, not you,” Mary supplied. A wave of relief washed over Marshall.

“Did he? When did he say that?”

“Oh, after I told him that you turned down Joseph’s offer to go out on the yacht.”

How did she know about that?

Mary gave Marshall a telling smirk. “You’re probably wondering how I know about that. It’s because I can’t trust my husband as far as I can throw him, so I read his Dadbook messages.” Marshall was confident everything from his end had been platonic, if playful, so he tried not to look nervous. “Don’t look so nervous,” Mary added. “I could tell you and he weren’t after the same thing. And you did good by refusing his offer, that yacht is nothing but trouble.”

“So… Wait, if Robert is mad at Joseph and not me, then how do I know if he’s ready for a romantic relationship or not?”

Leaning down to his level, Mary looked Marshall dead in the eye and replied, “You can’t.”

“No, no, I need to know so--”

“Listen, nerd, I’m only going to say this to you once.” Marshall closed his mouth, studying Mary’s narrowed eyes. “If you want Robert, you have to fight. He’s done some shady things, but he’s trying hard to be a good man for Val. If you want that good man in your life you have to take risks. And if you really want to be with him, if you want to know what he’s been thinking of you all this time, you need to ask. Because nobody is going to ask for you.” She straightened, picking her wine glass back up. “That’s life.”

As terrifying as the sentiment was, Marshall could respect it. Mary could easily ask Robert what he thought of Marshall, they both knew that. “I understand,” Marshall said, standing. “And thank you. For being honest with me.”

Mary gave him a smile. “Hey, no problem. Say hi to the old so-and-so for me, will you?”

End of conversation, then. Marshall gave her a nod and headed for the door. On his way he pulled his phone out and began texting a short message to Robert, asking about dinner. They hadn’t seen much of one another in the last few weeks, but he figured if Robert ignored him out of spite he could just walk over to his house and kick down his door. 

Marshall suddenly connected with something solid, his phone pushing up into his chest and typing several random symbols before the send button was accidentally pressed. “Ah, shit,” he swore, taking a step back and looking up.

“Marshall!”

Oh no.

He hadn’t even made it out the door of the house. In front of him was a familiar set of perfect teeth, golden hair, and a smile that could make anyone’s knees weak. Marshall’s heart pounded in his throat as he took another step back from Joseph. 

“I’m just getting home from work. I didn’t know Mary invited you over,” Joseph said. 

“She didn’t, I just came to borrow some sugar,” Marshall lied, taking another step. He could hear Mary’s heels as she clicked up the hallway to stand behind him. 

Joseph nodded, putting a hand over his heart. “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. You’re more than welcome to our sugar, or anything else you might need.”

Mary slipped something into Marshall's hand behind his back. It felt like a small tupperware container. Taking a chance, he held it up to show Joseph. Sure enough, it was a tiny container with sugar inside. “Already got it.”

“Excellent,” Joseph replied. He didn’t sound as excited as before.

“Well I’d better get back to my peanut butter cookies. They were just about to go in the oven but I needed to coat them.” Marshall tried to scoot around Joseph but the blond grabbed his wrist. 

“Marshall,” he breathed. He was suddenly too close. Shuddering, Marshall tried to gently pull away but Joseph held him in place. “We should spend some time together soon.” He quickly let go, crossing to Mary’s side. 

Whipping around, Marshall looked just in time to see Joseph putting his arm around Mary. She was watching Marshall with worry in her eyes. Ah, so she did care. “Yeah, maybe we can all have a barbeque soon. Take care, you two.” Before either of them could answer, he bolted back to his house.

~*~*~

It took a an hour for Marshall's heart to stop pounding. In that time he thought of the interaction with Joseph over and over, slowly unraveling his fears from the truth. 

Joseph hadn’t grabbed his arm that hard, or even for that long. It had only been a brief moment. And he hadn’t even gotten that close, in retrospect, it had just seemed that way because of the narrow hallway. Joseph wasn’t dumb enough to act suspicious right in front of his wife. 

By the time his heart had stopped beating so fast, Marshall realized that his phone was going off. In fact, it had been for a while. Ding, ding. Ding ding ding. He was getting messages all in rapid succession. Confused, he picked his phone up and opened his Dadbook page to find a wall of texts from a certain someone. When he scrolled to the first message in the sequence, he realized why.

Me: Hey Robert, dinner tonight? I’ll cook, or we can drosn(&^%&

His prematurely sent message. Marshall started to scroll down to read Robert’s responses.

Robert: Drosn? What’s that supposed to mean?

Robert: Marshall, did you get eaten by Mothman?

Robert: You have to tell me if you were eaten by Mothman. I mean that’s a lame way to go but I need to know who I’m avenging you from.

Robert: Or was it the Dover Ghost? 

Robert: Hey.

Robert: Hey.

Robert: Hey.

Robert: Hey.

Robert: Marshall

Robert: Hey.

Robert: Okay now I’m actually worried, it’s been over an hour.

Marshall read over the messages, cracking a small smile. He was about to type a response when he saw Robert typing.

Robert: I see you read all that. You’re clearly alive, I’m coming over.

Turning to look at the room, Marshall let out a soft, “Nooooooo…” The room was indescribably messy, there were pizza boxes and take out containers everywhere. It could have rivaled he and Craig’s old dorm. 

Too late to clean. Robert was knocking on his front door. 

Marshall grabbed the blanket from the back of the couch and threw it over a pile of garbage. Not great, but it would have to do. Robert was knocking again. 

“Open up, FBI,” Robert called. 

Biting back a smile, Marshall leaned against the door. “Sorry sir, but I’m CIA. I outrank you.”

“Actually I’m CIA posing as FBI,” Robert retorted. 

“I’m gonna have to see a warrant.”

“Open the door and I’ll show you.”

Marshall hesitated before shifting and opening the door just a crack, peeking out. “Warrant first,” he said, sternly. 

Robert looked amazing. He still had that rugged look to him, but he had showered, combed his hair, his clothes were clean. He looked like a new man. Turning out the pockets of his leather jacket, Robert shrugged. “I lied about having a warrant. And being CIA. Can I come in anyway?”

“I’ve got a better idea…” Marshall opened the door and slipped out, quickly closing it behind himself. “Hey.” He brushed some hair behind his ear, looking up at Robert. 

Robert put a hand on the door, wiggling his eyebrows at Marshall. “Hey,” he cooed. “No but seriously, what was with that text.”

Marshall let out a nervous laugh. “Texting and walking is dangerous. Not even once.”

“Ah. So what were you trying to say?”

“I wanted to ask you out to dinner, and I was saying we could drive.”

“I’ll have to check my schedule.” Robert pulled his phone out and made a show of looking through it. Marshall checked his watch to be cheeky. “Looks like I can squeeze you in, but we need to make this quick cause I’ve got an appointment in an hour.” 

Recognizing Robert’s patented brand of “I’m-serious-or-am-I” humor, Marshall clicked his tongue in annoyance. “Well that’s too bad because I was hoping we could go Mothman hunting tonight, too. I mean, you still haven’t avenged me.”

“Was it really Mothman?”

“I’ll… Explain in the car.”

Robert seemed to recognize some distress in his tone and decided to drop it. Backing away so Marshall was free to move, he pulled his truck’s keys from his pocket. “I’ll drive.”

Robert drove them straight past all the restaurants in town, away from the lights and out onto a country road. It seemed they wouldn’t be eating in Maple Bay. Marshall let the silence settle between them as they drove, looking out the window at the sparse trees and streetlights that passed them by. The sun was setting and the entire skyline was lit up in a soft orange. He glanced back at Robert, whose eyes were firmly glued to the road. One of his favorite things about Robert was how comfortable he was with silence. 

“I went to go talk to Mary,” Marshall began after a few minutes. “And as I was leaving Joseph came home. I bumped right into him, so that’s what happened with the text.”

Marshall noticed Robert’s grip on the wheel tightening. “You guys chat it up about old times?” Robert asked. 

“God, no. Mary managed to give me an out and I bolted.”

They’d never really talked about what happened between himself and Joseph. Robert didn’t say anything more, but Marshall could tell it was eating at him. “We didn’t do anything. Joseph and I. I just wanted to be friends.” Robert scoffed. A pang of fear and guilt went through Marshall’s chest. He was quiet, staring down at his hands. “We aren’t. Anymore.”

“Friends?” Robert glanced at him out of the corner of his eye and seemed to realize what he’d done. “I mean, you can be friends. You can have friends, I’m not here to tell you not to make friends. You can even be friends with Mothman, but you know he’s lame.”

“I know you don’t like him.”

“That’s an understatement.”

“But I promise you he didn’t do anything.”

Robert suddenly slowed the truck to a stop and pulled over onto the side of the road. They weren’t anywhere in particular, but there was a restaurant a little ways up. He turned the truck off and turned to face Marshall, looking seriously at him. “You promise what now?”

Marshall opened his mouth to speak but quickly closed it, confused. Was he in trouble? Robert scanned his eyes before leaning back a bit, giving Marshall some more space. “You said he didn’t do anything. What was it you thought I thought he did?”

“I’m pretty sure you thought he and I were sleeping together. Like Mary thought. But we weren’t, because all I wanted was a friend.” As Marshall spoke, Robert pulled out a pack of cigarettes. “Robert, I don’t want you thinking something that isn’t true. I was just… I was trying to give you some space.”

“I’m not mad at you.”

Hesitating, Marshall tilted his head. “You’re not.”

Robert opened the window beside him, blowing smoke out of it. “No. Of course not. I’m just worried.”

“What exactly are you worried about? I don’t really understand and Mary won’t tell me.”

“If it hasn’t happened then I’m not worried about it. Sounds like you’ve been trying to avoid him. But my next question is, why were you trying to give me some space?”

There it was.

Marshall sucked in a breath. “You said almost a year ago that you needed some time to better yourself before you could be with me. I just don’t want you thinking I’m hovering around waiting for you to get your act together so we can…” He trailed off, catching Robert’s gaze. “What? What’s that look?”

Robert had turned to him, looking flabbergasted. “It’s been that long?”

Rolling his eyes, Marshall added. “In four weeks. Today’s actually the anniversary of me moving to Maple Bay.” 

“Shit…”

“You can say that again.”

“Shit.”

A light laugh left Marshall as he leaned back in his seat. Robert stubbed out his cigarette before it was even finished. “So, what, you’ve been waiting all this time for me?”

“Well, yeah,” Marshall replied. “I made friends with the other guys in the cul-de-sac, but it’s not like I want to be serious with any of them. I’ve just been trying to distract myself is all. I guess I miscalculated with Joseph, but everyone else has been cool.”

“Can I be honest about something?” Robert asked, leaning a bit closer. Marshall turned to face him and the smell of cigarette and fresh air hit him. He nodded, urging Robert to continue. “I honestly thought you’d have moved on from me. No joke, I thought you were just working your way through the other guys in the neighborhood”

Marshall tried not to look offended. “Of course not.” He must have looked offended because Robert ran a hand down his face.

“I know. I’m sorry.”

“Is that why you never said anything to me?”

Robert let out a biting laugh. “I mean, partially? The other part is, frankly, I’m still not good enough for you. Not really. It’s been a long road but learning to take care of yourself and be kind to yourself and connecting with your daughter, it’s harder than I thought.” 

Marshall’s heart sunk. “Well, I’m not trying to rush you.”

Robert glanced over at Marshall again, studying him. “Let’s go eat. And then go home.”

“Sure.” 

They ate in silence, Robert only breaking it every once in a while to tell an elaborate story that was clearly fabricated. By the end of the meal Marshall’s chest felt lighter. The comfortable silence, the jokes, it all felt so natural. Even if Robert was going to drop him off at home and tell him they were through, he’d at least have one last happy memory with him to cling to. 

On the drive home, Robert flipped the radio on to the 80s station. Neither of them made a peep as all the greatest hits were played. Eventually, a song came on that made Marshall snort. 

“We’re no strangers to love, you know the rules and so do I.”

Marshall glanced at Robert who had a concentrated look on his face. 

“A full commitment’s what I’m thinkin’ of, you wouldn’t get this from any other guy.”

Wait a minute… 

As the song continued to play, more lyrics stuck out to Marshall. 

“We’ve known each other for so long, your heart’s been aching but you’re too shy to say it.” 

How was it that a song that perfectly encapsulated what was going on with them came on the radio as they drove home? 

Damn you, top 40s 80s music. You’re just vague enough to be relatable. 

As the song died down, Robert pulled into Marshall’s driveway. “I take it you want to come in?” Marshall asked, looking over at Robert. 

“If that’s alright with you. I mean, I’d bring you in my house but that place is spotless. It’s sickening.” 

Spotless? Oh, no. Marshall looked at his own house, remembering the pizza boxes haphazardly covered with a blanket in the living room. And the rest of the house. “You know, I might not mind a spotless house,” he pointed out. “It’ll be nice. To get to be in a spotless house. And I miss Betsy sooo much, I’d love to see her.”

Too late. Robert could tell something was up and hopped out of the truck. He crossed to the door and threw it open, stepping inside. 

“Marshall…” 

Hesitantly, Marshall slipped into the house after Robert. It was awful. It was a lot worse standing behind Robert. Robert, who’d sobered up. Robert who had started doing his own laundry. Robert who could keep his house clean and was complaining about how it was too clean.

Marshall felt a sharp pang of fear. This was it. If Robert hadn’t decided before now he was definitely going to leave him now. He couldn’t have such a negative influence around now that he’d started to get better. He suddenly felt light headed. His insecurities had ruined his chances with the one man who’d made him feel anything close to loved since Alex’s death. 

“I can explain,” Marshall began, weakly. Robert turned to him, pulling him into his arms. “... Uh… Oh…”

Without a word, Robert closed the door, sat Marshall on the couch, and got to work. As Robert grabbed some garbage bags from the kitchen, Marshall stood, alarmed. “Hey, no. You don’t have to--”

“Sit. Let me take care of this.” It wasn’t harsh or commanding. Marshall hadn’t heard that tone from Robert in a long time. Slowly, he took a seat, watching as Robert did his best to bag up all the litter. Once the living room was moderately clean, he took a seat beside Marshall. 

“I’m sorry,” Marshall immediately said. “It got away from me, this isn’t normal around here it was just for the week, I--”

Robert held a hand up to silence him. “What did I say about small talk?”

It hadn’t really seemed like small talk to him but Marshall fell silent, a small frown settling on his face. 

“I think I owe you an apology.” Robert hesitated before reaching out and taking Marshall’s hand in a soft grip. “I should have said this a hell of a lot sooner and this whole mess could have been avoided.” Without warning, he shifted onto one knee in front of Marshall, staring up at him with an intense gaze. Marshall opened his mouth to protest. “No, shh. Let it happen,” Robert insisted. “Marshall Robert Johnson--”

“Not my middle name,” Marshall interjected.

“Well it should be. Marshall “Not My Middle Name” Johnson. Would you do me the honor of being my actual, real life, I’m done jerking you around now for real boyfriend?” 

Marshall’s heart was hammering away in his chest. “Look, I don’t mean to be picky but, you’ve gotta put a ring on it.”

Robert scrambled around in his pockets, pulling out a small piece of wood left over from whittling. “Okay… Okay, hang on, I can do this.” Marshall stifled laughter as he watched Robert scrape and cut away at the piece until it vaguely resembled a ring. He took Marshall’s right hand, sliding the splintery circle onto his ring finger. It was a bit big, but he wasn’t about to complain. “Is this a yes?”

Admiring the ring, Marshall nodded. 

Leaning up, Robert captured Marshall’s lips in a surprisingly tender kiss. Marshall melted immediately, putting his ringed hand to Robert’s cheek and pulling him closer. After a bit, Robert pulled away. 

“I’ve told you before, you’re important to me.” He pecked Marshall’s cheek before standing. “But dammit if you don't know how to make a mess. Is the rest of the place like this?”

“C’mon, Robert, I told you this is a recent development.”

“No shit. You should have seen my place.” Robert was starting to walk into the kitchen to clean. Marshall followed, helping him by scraping some excess from the dishes into the disposal. “I swear to god, I was about to call a hazmat team. Betsy got into a box in the back of the kitchen and there was some kind of creature inside moving around. It took us three days to hunt it down.”

“Betsy couldn’t catch it when she found it?” Marshall asked, happy to play along.

“Scared the shit out of her. She bolted and I had to rush in and fight it off some leftover pizza.”

“Please tell me you ate the pizza.”

“I was planning on it, but it was covered in glow-in-the-dark ooze.” 

The pair continued their work late into the night, chatting at some points and working quietly side by side at others. Eventually, they reached the bedroom. It was the one place that had been untouched by Marshall’s deep sadness. 

Robert sighed in relief as he stepped inside, shrugging out of his jacket. “Great… Perfect.” He collapsed face-first on the bed with a happy groan. 

“I take it you’re spending the night?” Marshall asked, stripping down to his binder and boxers. With Robert face down he felt comfortable changing into proper pajamas as he got a muffled ‘yes’ in return. Once he was fully comfortable, Marshall climbed into bed, pressing a knee into Robert’s back by accident as he climbed over him. Robert grunted and turned to face him, frowning. “Sorry,” Marshall murmured, cuddling up close to him. 

“You’d better be. You can’t use handsome to get out of that forever, you know.” Robert shifted closer, draping an arm over Marshall’s waist and pulling him close to his chest. “You don’t wanna… Celebrate, do you?”

“Is celebrate code for have sex?”

“It is.”

“Absolutely not.”

Robert let out a relieved sigh. “Good. Too tired for that. Maybe another time, hm?”

Marshall smiled into Robert’s shoulder. “You remember how we first met?”

“I tried to take you home from Jim and Kim’s. But we got inside and you were so surprised that I was kissing you I had to make sure you were okay.”

“And I was not.”

“You were fine.”

“I wasn’t okay with what was happening. I honestly thought ‘come inside’ was an invitation for another round of drinks, not sex.”

“Sweet, sweet, innocent Marshall... “

Marshall let out a weak laugh as he drifted off to sleep. Shifting, Robert pulled him closer and maneuvered the blankets on top of them. 

“You beautiful idiot,” Robert teased, softly, letting his eyes close. “You’re gonna be the death of me.”


End file.
